Summary
The much-heralded “McConaissance” ended years ago, and Matthew McConaughey hasn’t headlined a film in over five years. Now, he’s officially back in business with Paul Greengrass in a thriller forApple TV+.
It’s been a quiet few years for the widely beloved Matthew McConaughey. After films likeThe Dark Tower,White Boy Rick,Serenity, andThe Beach Bumall crashed and burned with both critics and audiences, McConaughey seemingly took time away from Hollywood to be with his wife and three kids. The vast majority of his film and television work since 2020 has all been voice roles, except for his appearance in a Zach Bryan music video in 2024. But withThe Rivals of Amziah Kingin post-production, his comedy series with Woody Harrelson titledBrothersset to release sometime in the relatively near future, and his supposed attachment to starring in aYellowstonesequel show, McConaughey seems rearing and ready to go again. Now, fans have gotten a look at his latest project:The Lost Bus.
Apple TV+ released the first teaser for Paul Greengrass’sThe Lost Bus,a survival drama based on the 2021 bookParadise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire. The teaser trailer showcases McConaughey’s Kevin McCay, a bus driver who must navigate the deadliest fire in California state history while carrying a teacher and her class of students to safety. In lesser hands, this story might become a melodramatic mess… but Paul Greengrass—the director behindUnited 93andCaptain Phillips, among many other films—typically knows what he is doing with “based on a true story” movies. Throw in beloved character actors like America Ferrera and Yul Vazquez and a score from nine-time Oscar nomineeJames Newton Howard, and you have a recipe for a solid flick.
Fans Have Been Waiting ForThe Lost Bus’s Matthew McConaughey To Form For A While Now
It’s been a rough decade for the “Matthew McConaughey is a great actor” crowd. In the early 2010s, the man seemingly couldn’t miss.The Lincoln Lawyer, Bernie, Killer Joe, Mud, Magic Mike, The Wolf of Wall Street,andInterstellarall showcased the Texas-born star’s immense talent. He finally won that elusive Oscar forDallas Buyers Club. The very next year, he earned an Emmy nomination for starring in the first season ofTrue Detective. It was a five-year run for the ages; something any actor in the world could look back on with pride. It was as if the one-two sucker punch of starring inFool’s GoldandGhosts of Girlfriends Pasthad smacked McConaughey out of a lengthy stupor and gotten him back on the right track. Alas,Interstellarwould prove to be the end of the “McConaissance.”
2015’sThe Sea of Treesgot the ball rolling—being panned by critics and failing to even gross $1 million at the box office—and things continued from there.Free State of Jones,Gold,The Dark Tower,White Boy Rick,Serenity, andThe Beach Bumall released between 2016 and 2019, with each and every single one earning middling-to-poor reviews and diabolical box office receipts. In the blink of an eye, McConaughey went from the closest sure thing Hollywood had to an actor to be avoided at all costs.
Alas, that was years ago, now. Surely, McConaughey is ready for another comeback tour. His career has been dead in the water before… who’s to say he can’t swim his way out again? Time will tell ifApple TV+‘sThe Lost Busproves to be the kickstarter the former rom-com icon needs to get back in the good graces of audiences everywhere.
